Built Ford Tough

Do you mean something like this? Source This came from the same interview that Doc posted to start this thread.

Hockey is the only sport that I have ever watched in person at a relatively high level (I've never seen a professional sport game ever) so I am going with hockey. The highest level of hockey that I went to live was a WHL Kelowna Rocket playoff game a couple of years ago. I love watching hockey games live though, especially playoff games. The atmosphere is unreal if your home town team is playing a rival.

The bottom line is whether or not the Raptors are able to win enough games not only in the regular season, but the playoffs as well to show Bosh that it would be worth signing a long term extension with the team.

I've got the same problem as well. The scroll bars only show up when somebody puts a team rep though, in case that helps at all. If the person doesn't have a team rep icon it is fine.

I don't have a link to this because I found it on another forum and they didn't post a link so I don't know if it is a credible source or not. I thought it was worth sharing regardless though. EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice that this was already posted. My bad.

Thanks for the details man. The new "Be A GM" mode sounds so sick. Well actually, every single new detail about this game that I read sounds amazing. I can't wait for this game to come out. It sounds like it is going to be unreal and seeing how I couldn't get enough of NHL 09 (I still play it to this day which doesn't usually happen with sports games as they tend to get way too easy for me), I honestly don't think that I could ever get sick of this game. It sounds amazing.

I agree that it would be a very bad move on the Heat's behalf if you just look at it from the perspective of Michael Beasley for Lamar Odom, but if trading for Odom allows the Heat to take the next step and become a more serious contender in the Eastern Conference and, as a result, are able to keep Dwyane Wade in Miami I think that it would be worth the risk. Then again, Beasley has tons of potential and if he is given the opportunity to showcase his talent on a more consistent basis next season, his impact and development may be enough to entice D-Wade into staying with the franchise. There is also the possibility that Wade does leave regardles and the Heat would be stuck in a very bad position without Beasley. B-Easy may or may not ever become a franchise player like originally thought, but if Wade does end up leaving I would much rather have Beasley than Lamar Odom heading into the future. It is a very high risk, high reward situation if you ask me.

I agree with you that Childress would've been a good fit for the Raptors but the reason that I didn't include him is because I just didn't think that there was any sort of realistic possibility that Childress would become a Raptor and as it turns out, Childress is returning to Olympiakos next season so, yeah lol.

They did play together at GT and Jack was Bosh's best friend at GT. I have read a couple of things that have said that they were roomates during their time together at GT, but I don't know if that is true or not.

Fair points on everything that you said. I just want to say one thing in regards to what you said about the defense. The way I see it, a good defense starts from the inside and works its way out. Having two average at best defensive big men makes teams feel confident when they drive the ball into the paint because they know that they don't have a great defender back there to worry about. I mean just look at all of the players that have been labelled as great perimeter defenders and you will see that a lot of them had a great big man to back them up. Artest in Indiana had Jermaine O'Neal, Bruce Bowen had Tim Duncan, Tayshaun Prince had the two Wallaces and Kobe had Shaq (not a great defender but a huge presence inside). I could list some more players but I think you get the point that I am making. The way I see it, a good defensive big man makes the teams perimeter defense look better. I mean just look at last season when the Raptors added Shawn Marion who was a good perimeter defender. He certainly didn't look very good on the defensive end of the floor last season with the Raptors and a large part of that is because teams weren't thinking twice about driving the ball into the paint and attacking Bosh and Bargnani. The majority of NBA players are too skilled and too quick to be stopped by one single perimeter defender. Last season the Raptors had a poor perimeter defense and they traded for a guy that is a very good perimeter defender in Shawn Marion, yet they were still a poor defensive team out on the perimeter. Having Jack gives the Raptors an above average perimeter defender, but make no mistake about it, he will not be shutting anybody down by himself and players will not hesitate to attack him and the Raptors will still be a poor defensive team with Jack out there. They will be better on the defensive end of the floor with Jack on the floor rather than Calderon, but they will still be poor on the defensive end. Jack will be a solid addition, but in no way, shape or form do I think that he should start over Jose. I never meant to imply that you thought that I thought you thought he should start. How's that for a tongue twister? PS: I think that Jose's defense was so bad last season because of his lingering hamstring injury. I am not making excuses for Calderon because I know that he is not a good defender, but he certainly wasn't as bad on the defensive end of the floor pervious years as he was last season and I think his hammy might have had something to do with that.

Care to enlighten me then? I mean, you seem to know so much about me.

Calderon is just as good at scoring the ball as Jack is, Calderon's problem is that he doesn't shoot the ball enough. When Calderon is actually aggressive on the offensive end of the floor I would take his high percentage, efficient offensive game over Jack's slightly better scoring ability. Calderons cored 0.3 less points per game then Jack did last season on 1 less shot attempt a game. Calderon is the superior shooter from deep and mid range while Jack is a better slasher. Jack is a slightly better scorer than Calderon is but when Calderon is playing aggressively and not just being completely passive on the offensive end and not looking for his shot at all, I would take him over Jack any day of the week. Having Hedo and Calderon on the floor will make Calderon even more dangerous on the offensive end of the floor anyways. Calderon is one of the best shooting point guards in the entire NBA. With Turkoglu on the floor the Raptors can use Calderon as more of a shooter rather then the primary playmaker. They can give the ball to Hedo on top of the arc and have Jose in the corner as a shooting threat. If teams collapse on Hedo's penetration, Calderon might get a wide open look and I would sure as hell rather have Calderon getting open looks from the perimeter than Jack because Calderon is a much, much better shooter. The Raptors can also have Calderon come off of screens and things like that to get him open jumpers and again, I would rather have Calderon shooting a jumper than Jack. I make no arguments on you about the defensive end of the floor but Jose is undoubtedly a better player than Jarrett Jack. Jack is a better slasher and defender (and I guess rebounder), but Jose is better than him at every other facet of the game. The bottom line is that I would much rather have 12.8/8.9 on 49.7/40.6 shooting than 13.1/4.5 on 45.3/35.3 shooting from my point guard regardless of whether or not the Raptors have added another playmaker on the floor in Hedo. PS: Since when is having two good playmakers on the court at the same time a bad thing anyways? I could see if Jose was like Brevin Knight and couldn't hit a jumper on offense but having Hedo is just going to make Jose better. When the Raptors won 47 games with TJ Ford as the point guard he was a much better playmaker than Jack is. In his first season with the Raptors Ford was distributing the ball very nicely on offense and averaged 8 assists per game to go along with his 14 points. Yeah he got trigger happy on occasion but he also was a very good playmaker for the Raptors during his first season with the team. After he suffered his injury and Calderon took over, his entire game changed and it seemed like he was trying to shoot his way back in the the rotation. Also, the main reason why the Raptors won 47 games with TJ Ford as the starting point guard was because the Eastern Conference was pathetically weak that season. The Raptors were an average team playing in a horribly bad conference and their win total were inflated. At least, that is my opinion but I never thought the Raptors were as good as their 47 wins may have led people to believe.

GSP was out striking Alves last night when they were on the feet though. He landed more shots and even knocked Thiago down with on the feet as well. I agree that Alves is the more dangerous fighter on the feet and part of the reason why GSP was out striking Alves was because Thiago had to worry about GSP's excellent take downs and great top control so he couldn't be as aggressive with his leg kicks, which are the best part of his entire stand up. If this was stricly a stand up fight where no take downs were allowed, I would go with Thiago Alves' Muay Thai over GSP's kick boxing but what makes GSP so dangerous is his complete fight game. Just take a look at their Fight Metric and it shows that GSP landed more shots and connected on a higher percentage of his shots thrown: http://www.fightmetric.com/fights/GSP-Alves.html If you sort through all of the different areas of striking (striking distance, clinch, ground and total) you see that the only place Alves had the advantage in was clinch work. Every where else GSP was superior. I do agree with you that Thiago was the more dangerous striker though and has heavier hands. You guy shave to give credit to Brock for his excellent wrestling though. I am not a fan of Lesnar's by any means but he has some very good wrestling ability and his top control last night was amazing (but this can be attributed to his overwhelming size and strength advantage). Pinning Mir's hand behind his head and opening up Mir's face was a very good move by Lesnar but I do agree with you all that if the fight were to stay on the feet that Lesnar would be at a disadvantage because Mir is the more technically sound fighter. Lesnar would definitely have a punchers chance though. To be perfectly honest though, I hate when people make arguments like this. There is a reason why it is called Mixed Martial Arts. Obviously watching people stand and bang is exciting but I am just as interested by a great, technical ground game. The fact of the matter is that GSP and Lesnar were both superior wrestlers and they utilized their strengths in their favour and didn't play into the strengths of their opponents and as a result, both ended up leaving with the belts still around their waists.

I had no problems with Akiyama winning against Belcher. Belcher had some vicious leg kicks but Akiyama clearly won the second round as he spent the majority of the round with top control. I don't think that Belcher can complain about the second round considering he spent most of it on his back. Akiyama dropped Belcher a couple times as well which score big on judges score cards. The only thing that Belcher really had going for him was his vicious leg kicks. It could've went either way, but I can agree with the decision. Rounds 1 and 3 were close but round 2 definitely went to Aikyama with him having top control for the majority of the round. I agree with the 29-28 score in favour of Yoshirio but I don't think that he won all three rounds. I had it 29-28 for Akiyama. Its like Dana White said to Belcher after the fight though, don't leave it in the judges hands. As for Fedor on Arlovski, it was a good KO, no doubt, but the fact that Arlovski has a glass chin and gets KO'ed like nothing takes away from that one at least a little bit in my mind. Don't get me wrong, it was a hell of a punch (off of a completely retarded flying knee attempt from Arlovski, I don't know what the hell he was thinking) but Hendo's on Bisping was just so damn ruthless. Other than Sean Salmon when he got knocked out by a high kick from Rashad evans a couple years back, I don't remember the last time that somebody was out cold for so long after getting KO'ed.

Hendo's KO on Bisping might have just became my new all time favourite MMA KO. God damn that was nasty and I loved every minute of it. Bisping was such an idiot in that fight as well. Everybody knows abou the sheer power that Henderson has in his right hand, so why the hell would you circle towards Hendo's power hand? When I saw Bisping circling to his left and towards Henderson's power hand, I knew that it would only be a matter of time before Hendo connected with a right and finished this fight but I did not expect it to be that nasty. http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/2340/1247367977823.gif Wow. That was ruthless. Maybe next time Bisping with think twice before running his mouth at an MMA legend like Dan Henderson lol (although I doubt it). This fight proved that I was right all along about Bisping though. He is a solid fighter, but he is not a title contender in the Middleweight Division at all. GSP and Thiago Alves went exactly how I thought. I figure that GSP would dominate Alves on the ground and end up winning a decesive decision. Outside of a lucky punch like Matt Serra landed on GSP in their first fight, nobody in the 170 pound division can touch St. Pierre. He is just too well rounded and talented of a fighter and is on a completely different level then the rest of the division. Everybody figured that Alves would be his biggest test yet and he walked through him like nothing. GSP has now completely dominated the #2 and #3 ranked Welterweights in the world in Jon Fitch and Thiago Alves. 170 is a deep division, but nobody can touch GSP as long as he stays motivated and trains hard for every fight. The Lesnar-Mir fight went exactly how I expected as well. I know that in my predictions I had Mir winning but deep down I knew that Lesnar was just too big and strong for Mir (I think I actually wrote that as well). Lesnar is just so much bigger and stronger than the rest of the Heavyweight division that it is almost unfair. I mean the guy has to cut weight to make it to the 265 pound limit and by fight night Lesnar has to weight at least 280 pounds. Frank Mir looked to be in the best shape of his life and the biggest that he has ever looked, and he was only 245 pounds yet Lesnar looked smaller than when he fought Couture and still had to cut to make the 265 pound limit. That just goes to show how big Lesnar is. I'm not diregarding Lesnar's skills but his significant size and strength advantage over his opponents can't be overlooked. To put it into perspective, it is basically like having a Lightweight fighter fight a Light Heavyweight fighter. Lesnar domianted that fight from start to finish though and deserved the victory. I can't say that I am too impressed with his post fight antics of flipping off the crowd, spitting into the camera and getting in Mir's face just after Mir got his legs back from underneath him and the cut man and doctor were looking after him. That was very disrespectfull in my opinion and just uncalled for, especially the Mir thing. All in all it was a good card. Hendo's KO over Bisping was undoubtedly my favourite part of the night though.

Yeah I have read that as well. As long as Indiana doesn't match the offer sheet Jack is as good as a Raptor in my opinion. I wonder what the Pacers stance is on Jack. I know that him and T.J. Ford didn't see eye to eye last season and they split the starting role. They may just let Jack walk to resolve the point guard drama that they had last season. I wouldn't mind seeing Jack as a Raptor though. He would give them some serious point guard insurance and he may also be able to play the shooting guard spot as well which gives the Raptors some options. If they do sign Jack though I can't see them making any other moves other then resiging Delfino and bringing back Rasho because I would imagine that it would take the entire MLE to sign Jack. He isn't my first choice but by no means would I be upset if they signed him.

I agree with this. I could see the Magic keeping Shard at the 4 if they signed a power forward that wasn't able to step outside of the paint, but having Bass on the floor will still enable the Magic to space the floor like they like because he is more than capable of hitting an 18 foot jumper. Obviously they won't have the same spacing at they had last season but it should be more than enough to enable Howard to go to work down low. I would definitely rather start Bass and have a legit 4 on defense rather then start Shard at the 4 just for the extra space on the floor.

No he shouldn't. Calderon is clearly better than Jack. Yeah Jack plays better defense but other than that Calderon is undoubtedly the superior player to Jack. Hell, I would even start last years injured version of Calderon over Jack. Jack would make an excellent back up point guard though. I would rather the Raptors sign a starting shooting guard with their MLE but I would not be upset in the least bit if they end up signing Jack to back up Jose. If Jose does happen to go down with an injury during the course of the season Jack would be a more than acceptable back up for him. He can also play a little bit of two guard so we might even see Jose and Jack play together. I would definitely not be opposed to the signing if it were to happen although I would rather the Raptors find a way to sign Marquis Daniels, Jack would be a very good second choice for me.

The Raptors played their second Summer League game earlier today against the Detroit Pistons. They dropped their second game in a row by a score of 91-87. Quincy Douby (21 points on 8-13), DeMar DeRozan (20 points on 9-20) and Patrick O'Bryant (10 points on 3-9) were the Raptors leading scorers on the day. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch the game as I was at work so I can't really give a detailed post like my first one as I can only go off of the box score, game recap and what other posters have said. Here is the jist of what I gathered from reading around though: - DeRozan continued to show flashes and had some very nice moves off of the dribble as well as some nice shots from mid range, but he looked tenative and cautious out on the floor. He had a strong 3rd quarter but cooled off in the 4th. Judging from what I read though, it looks like he had a better game than against the Lakers and his jumper looked strong (with some extended range as well) which is obviously great to hear. - Douby looked good apperantly. He was driving the ball well and had his jumper going. Apperantly he played a much better all around game than against the Lakers. - Patrick O'Bryant was taking too many perimeter jumpers and missing them all. For some reason he thinks that he is a good shooter and whenever he stepped out of the paint bad things happened. The Raptors coaching staff needs to get into O'Bryant's head and tell him to work in the paint. - Roko Ukic didn't look as good as yesterday, but he still showed improvements on his jumper and that last game wasn't a fluke. That is about all that I can really say as, like I said, I missed the game. The Raptors next game is on Monday against the Portland Trail Blazers. Here is the Box Score for all of you that are interested in looking at it: http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/games/boxscore.jsp?gameId=1520900005

Just thought that I would point out that Bruce Bowen wasn't shutting anybody down last season. Age has started to catch up to him and he is not the defender that he used to be. From what I saw of Bowen last season, I wouldn't say that he was anything better than an average defender. I honestly think that Richard Jefferson will be able to make up for the loss of Bowen on the defensive end as long as Jefferson commits to playing defense like he did when he was with the Nets during their best years at the beginning of the decade. The Jefferson trade might be the best move of the offseason (or at least the most underrated) in my opinion. It gives the Spurs another offensive threat so that they no longer have to just rely on the big three and it gives them an athletic swing man that can create his own shot off of the bounce which is something that they were desperately lacking last season.

With the recent four team sign and trade between the Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, Canada's team was able to hold onto their Mid Level Exception , Bi-Annual Exception and the Raptors were also able to retain the Bird Rights to shooting guard Carlos Delfino. Without the sign and trade of Hedo Turkoglu that was a part of the four team trade already mentioned, Toronto would not have been able to use any of the exceptions and would've had to renounce the rights to Carlos Delfino and really give them with very few options to strengthen their bench. However, since Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo was able to pull off that sign and trade for Turkoglu, the Raptors were able to hold onto their salary cap exceptions and have plenty of options heading forward. Toronto is looking for some perimeter players to add depth to their roster and strengthen their bench. Some potential options at the shooting guard and small forward positions are: Marquis Daniels: Daniels is coming off of a strong 2008/2009 season with the Indiana Pacers in which he averaged 13.6 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game on a very respectable 45% from the field. Daniels would give the Raptors another offensive threat and would most likely start at shooting guard for the team. He is a mid range threat but he lacks three point range on his jump shot as shown by his career 23.7 three point percentage. He enjoys playing a physical game and will play a tenacious brand of defense. He seems to enjoy getting under his opponents skin and taking them out of their game. Signing Daniels would give the Raptors another threat on the offensive end, but it also gives them a gritty, physical player that would add toughness to a team that is lacking in that department. Matt Barnes: Like Marquis Daniels, Matt Barnes is a gritty player that is not afraid to mix it up with opposing players. If he were to sign with the Raptors, Barnes would bring toughness and energy off of the bench for the team. Last season with the Phoenix Suns, Barnes averaged 10.2 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game on 42% shooting. He is a three point threat although his outside jumper can be very streaky at times. Barnes plays with an edge to his game that would be very beneficial for the Raptors and would be the first one to step in for a teammate if he feels that a cheap shot was taken. Barnes aggressive style can come back to haunt his team at times though because at times he will take it too far and go over the line, which ends up costing his team in the long haul. Regardless, Barnes would be a very nice addition off of the bench if he were to end up as a member of the Toronto Raptors though and his toughness and gritty play would be welcomed with open arms. Von Wafer: Von Wafer, who played with the Houston Rockets last season, is coming off of a breakthrough season that saw him score 9.7 points a game on just under 45% from the field. Up until last season Wafer was a journeyman but he found a home with the Rockets and made the best of a great situation for him. Wafer is a good scorer off of the bench that can hurt you by driving to the rim, with his mid range jumper or even step behind the three point line and shoot from deep. Outside of scoring though, Wafer doesn't bring much else to the table as he is pretty one dimensional. He isn't a very good defender and doesn't really make plays for others. However, if the Raptors are looking for a pure scorer off of the bench, Von Wafer just may be that player for them. Flip Murray: Flip is another player that would give Toronto a scoring punch from off of the bench. He averaged 12.2 points per game last season for the Atlanta Hawks and throughout his career has played the role of an offensive spark off of the bench. He has a very good jump shot and when he catches fire can become a very dangerous player on the offensive end. One thing that makes Murray a good fit for Toronto is that he can play both the shooting guard and point guard positions. He would add insurance to the point guard position in case second year player Roko Ukic struggles to take his game to the next level and prove worthy of being a back up point guard at the NBA level. Signing Murray would not only give the Raptors some scoring punch off of the bench, it would also give them some insurance at the point guard spot. Linas Kleiza: Kleiza is a big small forward who ha spent his entire four year NBA career with the Denver Nuggets. Last season Kleiza averaged 9.9 points per game and 4 rebounds per game on just under 45% shooting. Kleiza is a big body that is not afraid of contact and physical play. At 6'8 and 245 pounds, Kleiza would give the Raptors some size and toughness off of the bench. Linas has three point range and can knock it down from deep if he is given a look, but he can be very streaky at times. The thing that I like the most about Kleiza would be the physicality and toughness that he would give Toronto off of the bench. With the European connection that Toronto has, the Lithuanian Kleiza would fit right in. *I didn't include Carlos Delfino because I think it is a guarantee that he will be back next season.* Those five players are who I think would spark the most interest from the Toronto Raptors and have a realistic chance of joining the team. The best thing of all is that aside from Marquis Daniels, nobody on this list would command the entire MLE which would allow the Raptors to add another piece to the puzzle if they wanted to. It may not even take the full MLE to get Daniels either. If the Raptors want to, they can also look to add another big man to their mix and if they do end up looking to add a big man, I don't think that we have to look any further then former Raptor Rasho Nesterovic. Rasho lives in Toronto during the off-season and has expressed that he would love to return to Toronto and put on the Raptors uniform again. He would give them a big bodied center that can play good post defense and on offense hit open jumpers. He is a player that knows his limitations and doesn't try to force anything. I would be shocked if Rasho didn't sign with the Raptors and become their backup center. Lastly, the Raptors may decide to add some point guard depth to the roster in case they don't feel that Roko Ukic will suffice as the back up point guard. If they do look at adding a point guard, some options are: Jarrett Jack: Jack played with the Indiana Pacers last season and split time with former Raptor T.J. Ford as the starting point guard. He averaged 13.1 points per game and 4.1 assists per game last season for the Pacers which was the best season of his career. Indiana have extended a qualifying offer to Jack which means that he is a restricted free agent so the Pacers are able to match any deal that is offered to Jack. This may make things a little difficult for Toronto if Indiana wants Jack back next season because the Raptors only have the MLE to offer. If the Pacers do decide to let Jack go, he would be a very good back up point guard for the Raptors, but the question is, will he accept that role? Anthony Carter: Carter is a veteran point guard that would give the Raptors some experience off of the bench. He has played in the NBA for 10 seasons and in his last season with the Denver Nuggets, Carter averaged 5.3 points per game and 4.7 assists per game. Carter is a veteran player that knows how to run an offense. He would be a valuable back up point guard due to that experience as well as the fact that he gives it his all whenever he is on the court and doesn't leave anything behind. Carter could be a very good hustle point guard for the Raptors and give them a veteran presence off of the bench. Brevin Knight: Knight didn't really have a great season last year with the Jazz as he only put up 2.4 points per game and 2.6 assists per game, but he is a savvy veteran and a pesky defender that knows how to run an offense. Knight has been around the league for a long time and is a good passer, defender and good at running an offense. He would also be a good mentor for not only Roko Ukic, but he could teach starting point guard Jose Calderon a few things as well. Knight would give the Raptors a calming, veteran presence off of the bench and a great veteran leader. Knight wouldn't make anything more than the minimum so it could be worth taking a shot on him if the Raptors are looking to add some point guard depth to the roster. So there is my list of potential free agent targets for the Toronto Raptors this off-season. I must admit, I was not a very big fan of the Hedo Turkoglu signing and didn't think that it was worth gutting the teams depth to sign Turkoglu, but after Bryan Colangelo completed the sign and trade which enabled the Raptors to keep their exceptions, I am really starting to like the move. If Colangelo can manage to get the right pieces to fill out the Raptors bench, this team could be in for a bounce back season after a disappointing 2008/2009 season.

Alright, thanks for the updates man. I've always been a fan of Livingston's and have really been pulling for him since that horrific knee injury he saw (to this day, that is still the most devestating injury that I have ever saw as it happened) to be able to get back into the league. It is a shame that he got that injury because I think that he could've developed into a really good point guard. I really took a liking to Harden last year at Arizona State and just love the way that he plays the game. I don't know what it is about Weaver and Ibaka, but there is just something about them that I like lol. When is the Thunder's next game? If I have time I will definitely try and watch it.

I can't stand Bisping at all. He thinks he is such a great fighter because of his time on TUF 3 but if Hamil never got injured in one of his fights he would've definitely been the 205 winner that season. I know that Bisping beat Hamil later on when they fought but that was one of the worst decisions that I have ever seen and Hamil was robbed. I wouldn't have a problem with his cocky attitude and tough talk, but the guy has not beaten anybody of relevance in his entire time in the UFC. The only legit contender that he has fought is Rashad Evans (who wasn't the same Evans that we see today) and he lost that fight which caused him to drop down to 185. His best win in the UFC is against Chris Leben and that is saying something lol. His cockyness and constant whining on this past season of TUF made me dislike him even more lol. I honestly think that Hendo is going to dominate that fight and after punishing him for 2 rounds, Hendo will go in for the kill in the 3rd. I find it hilarous how on the UFC 100 Countdown show he said that Hendo wouldn't be able to take him down and that he will KO Hendo. If guys like Rampage, Anderson Silva and Wanderlei Silva couldn't KO him, then there is no way that Bisping will be able to. That got a good chuckle out of me. I agree with you, I was going to buy the PPV but I figured I might as well save my 60 bucks considering I wouldn't have anybody to watch it with as all of my friends that are into MMA all have to work so I'll just find an online link.

Tomorrow night is the UFC 100 and it is arguably the most stacked card that the UFC has ever put on. It has two Championships fights, the past season of TUF coaches going at it with a possible title shot in the balance, the #2 ranked Welterweight in the world fighting an up and coming contender and the UFC debut of Yoshirio "Sexyama" Akiyama (most probably won't get the joke but oh well). This card is so stacked that you have who many consider to be the future of the Light Heavyweight division, Jon "Bones" Jones, fighting on the under card as well as UFC legend Mark "The Hammer" Coleman fight Stephen Bonnar on the undercard as well. To put it simply, this card is one for the ages. The only thing that I wish is that Rampage Jackson never got injured during his training and he would've fought Rashad Evans for the LHW Title in the main event of 100 like originally planned (Mir vs Lesnar 2 was orignally going to take place at UFC 98 but once Rampage got injured they moved it to 100) because that is a fight that I can't wait to see. Oh well, Mir vs. Lesnar 2 is going to be a huge draw for the UFC, but in my opinion, the true main event for this card is GSP-Alves. Anyways, enough rambling, here is the fight card for 100: Main Card UFC Heavyweight Unification UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar (3-1-0) vs. UFC Interm Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir (12-3-0) UFC Welterweight Championship UFC Welterweight Champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre (18-2-0) vs. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves (22-4-0) TUF Coaches Collide Dan Henderson (24-7-0) vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping (18-1-0) Jon Fitch (22-3-0, 1 NC) vs. Paulo Thiago (11-0-0) Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1-0, 2 NC) vs. Alan "The Talent" Belcher (13-4-0) Undercard (may not be broadcasted) Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (15-9-0) vs. Stephan "American Psycho" Bonnar (14-5-0) Mac Danzig (19-6-1) vs. Jim Miller (13-2-0) Jon "Bones" Jones (8-0-0) vs. Jake O'Brien (11-2-0) "Stun Gun" Dong Hyun Kim (11-0-1, 1 NC) vs. TJ Grant (14-2-0) CB "The Doberman" Dollaway (9-2-0) vs. "Filthy" Tom Lawlor (5-1-0, 1 NC) Matt Grice (10-2-0) vs. Shannon Gugerty (11-3-0) You know that this is a completely stacked card when you have three fights on the undercard (Coleman-Bonnar, Danzig-Miller, Jones-O'Brien) that have a very good chance of being on the Main card of basically every other PPV. Anyways, I will give my thoughts on the three main fights of the night and then give my predictions. Lesnar vs. Mir: In the anticipated rematch for the Heavyweight Championship, Frank Mir is going to have to rely on his experience, technical striking and excellent ji-jitsu to pull out the victory. Although Lesnar has the significant power advantage in the stand up, Mir is definitely the crisper striker. If he plans on standing with Lesnar he has to pick his spots, stay on the outside and stick and move. Trading in the pocket with a man as powerful as Lesnar would be a very, very bad idea on Mir's behalf. Another option for Mir is to try and pull guard and utilize his excellent BJJ skills and try to either submit Lesnar or even take him down because most wrestlers don't like to be on their back in the octagon and we have never really seen what kind of ground game Lesnar has off of his back. Catching Lesnar with a submission seems to be Frank's best bet though. For Lesnar, he is going to want to take this fight to the ground and utilize ground and pound techniques on Frank Mir. Lesnar is an excellent wrestler and I couldn't even imagine how hard it would be to transition if you have a 280 pound (maybe even more, there is no way that Lesnar weighs 265 at fight time) on top of you. Lesnar should look to utilize some vicious ground and pound but also being catious about not getting caught in a submission from the bottom by Mir. If this fight stays on the feet, Lesnar's best bet is to try and get Mir's timing down and swing connect with one of his gigantic right hands and there is a good chance that this fight is going to be over. The biggest concern for Lesnar is to not get caught in a submission attempt from Mir. Georges St. Pierre vs. Thiago Alves: In the Welterweight Championship fight, the challenger Thiago Alves is going to want to look to keep this fight in the feet and utilize his Muay Thai striking and vicious leg kicks (probably the best in all of UFC, maybe even all of MMA). Alves has great knockout power in both hands and both feet and if he keeps this fight standing he just may be able to catch GSP on the chin with one of his power punches and end this fight. He is going to want to estabilish leg kicks early on to take away GSP's explosiveness and maybe even make GSP hesitate when shooting for a takedown. Alves best bet is to keep this fight on its feet where he has the advantage in my opinion. Georges St. Pierre is going to want to take this fight to the ground and smother Alves on the ground with his awsome wrestling skills and great ground and pound. GSP is one of the best at transitioning on the ground and passing his opponents guard. If he is able to get a dominant position on the ground he can weak Thiago down during the course of a 5 round title fight. GSP has excellent ground skills and has amazing conditioning that always him to push the tempo for all 5 rounds and eventually wear his opponents out. If his past fights are any indication, if GSP is able to get this fight to the ground it is going to be a long night for the Pitbull and we will most likely see GSP win a unanimous decision or get a TKO stoppage in the 4th or 5th round. Dan Henderson vs. Michael Bisping: There is a lot at stake for both of these fighters as there is a good chance that whoever wins this fight will get the next shot at Anderson "The Spider" Silva (it will either be the winner of this fight or the winner of Nate Marquardt vs. Damian Maia at UFC 102). In this fight, Bisping is going to want to stick and move for the duration of the three rounds and just stay to the outside. He is the more technical striker and he is going to need to get in and out before Hendo has a chance of catching him with one of his lethal right hands. Bisping is definitely going to want to keep this fight standing and jab his way to a decision victory. Although Bisping is a very crisp striker, he does not have knockout power and Dan Henderson is known for his granite chin and being able to take a hell of a punch. Bisping is going to need to constantly stick and move and keep distance between himself and Hendo. For Dan Henderson, he is going to want to bring this fight to the ground and utilize his Olympic caliber wrestling ability. Bisping's ground game is no match for Hendo and I am sure that Dan knows this and will look to bring this fight to the mat and punish Bisping with some vicious ground and pound. Another option for Henderson is to try and clinch with Bisping and dirty box his way to victory like Randy Couture is known for. Henderson is going to want to stiffle Bisping throughout the fight and keep it a close the space between him and his opponent which will give him a distinct advantage. Even if Bisping is able to keep the space between himself and Hendo, all it takes is for Hendo to connect once with his lethal right hand when Bisping is coming in to finish this fight. So there is my analysis of the three main fights of the night and here are my predictions: Brock Lesnar vs. Champion Frank Mir Winner: Frank Mir by submission in the 3rd round (Brock will probably win but I can't stand him so I'm going with Mir lol) Georges "Rush" St. Pierre vs. Thiago "Pitbull" Alves Winner: Georges St. Pierre via Unanimous Decision Dan Henderson vs. Michael "The Count" Bisping Winner: Dan Henderson via KO in the 3rd round Jon Fitch vs. Paulo Thiago Winner: Jon Fitch via Unanimous Decision Yoshihiro Akiyama vs. Alan "The Talent" Belcher Winner: Yoshihiro Akiyama via Unanimous Decision Mark "The Hammer" Coleman vs. Stephan "American Psycho" Bonnar Winner: Stephan Bonner via Submission in the 2nd round Mac Danzig vs. Jim Miller Winner: Mac Danzig via Split Decision Jon "Bones" Jones vs. Jake O'Brien Winner: Jon Jones via KO in the 1st round "Stun Gun" Dong Hyun Kim vs. TJ Grant Winner: Dong Hyun Kim via Unanimous Decision CB "The Doberman" Dollaway vs. "Filthy" Tom Lawlor Winner: CB Dollaway via KO in the 2nd round Matt Grice vs. Shannon Gugerty Winner: Matt Grice via Ko in the 3rd round Well that about wraps up my post. Anybody else plan on watching UFC 100?